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How-Tuesday: Learn How to Make a Faux Feather Wreath


Story by katiearms, TinyBazaar Published on May 12, 2009 in How-To	Photo by Danielle Thompson

Feather your nest with this beautiful and fiendishly clever project, courtesy of Danielle Thompson, a.k.a. TinyBazaar. Check out her blog, Kitschy Digitals, for more craftiness!

I love the feather trend of late, especially in fashion. One thing that can be difficult with feathers is their fragility; they often fall apart with even the smallest amount of wear. I had this in mind when I created this project. You don't have to worry about them disintegrating!

I wanted to apply this feather trend to a home decor project: create a wreath out of these printed paper feathers. The result is a modern take on the traditional wreath. (And so pretty to display for springtime!)

For this project you will need:
- The violet and/or magenta feather PDF (If you're interested in more feather colors, check out the digital kit or print-outs in her Etsy shop!)
- Some good, sharp scissors
- Metal wreath form (as pictured - mine is around 12" in diameter)
- Your choice of paper to print the feathers on (I used regular matte white photo paper, but you could use cardstock, textured cardstock, or any paper in any color you'd like.)
- A strong glue that will hold paper to metal (I used E-6000 because I wanted to make sure the paper would adhere to the metal really well. It's super strong but very toxic, so if you use this glue, use it in a very well ventilated area!)

Step One: I used several sheets of feathers for this wreath, as it will take quite a few. To save paper and ink, just print them as you need them. These files are PDF files, so you should be able to open these on any computer without the need of photo-editing software. You will need Acrobat Version 6 or later. You can download it for free at http://www.adobe.com/products/reader/.

Step Two: Cut out your feathers. One tip I learned a long time ago when I was doing a lot of decoupage: Instead of letting your cutting hand take the lead, let your non-cutting hand move the paper/shape. In my experience, it's much easier to cut out detailed shapes this way! For example, if you're right handed, you hold your scissors in your right hand, and the paper in your left hand. Keep your right hand (and scissors) still, and let your left hand move the paper back and forth. Your left hand will guide the cutting instead of the scissors.

Step Three: Once you have quite a few feathers cut out, you can start gluing them to your wreath form. This metal form has two "tiers." You'll need to start on the bottom tier. These feathers will rest underneath the feathers on the top tier. Start by adding a drop of glue to the top metal rim as seen here:

Then add a drop of glue to the bottom rim:

Then attach your first feather:

Keep attaching the feathers all the way around until you finish the bottom tier.

Now attach feathers to the entire top tier.

You're finished! Now you can embellish it if you'd like, or keep it as is. I added some green pompoms to my wreath.

Many thanks to Danielle Thompson for sharing her project and beautiful photos with us. Don't forget to stop by the Kitschy Digitals blog, and while you're at it, check out her personal blog as well.

More crafty project downloads can be found in our How-Tuesday series on the Etsy blog! And did you know that you can buy Supplies on Etsy?

Tags	Danielle Thompson, decorating, decorations, DIY, feathers, home decor, HOW-TO, how-tuesday, How Tuesday, instructions, Kitschy Digitals, paper, paper craft, PDF project, projects, TinyBazaar, tutorial, wreaths

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65 comments Login to add your own!

May 12, 2009 at 2:14 p.m.

LaveMeSoapCo

oh that is pretty!

May 12, 2009 at 2:17 p.m.

QueenvannaCreations

how very cute!! so many possibilities, too!

May 12, 2009 at 2:18 p.m.

EJPcreations

Look how cute that is! I lovethe pom pom in hte middle! Nice design!!!

May 12, 2009 at 2:19 p.m.

FancifulForm

Very pretty!

May 12, 2009 at 2:19 p.m.

SeaFindDesigns

Way cool.... Thanks for sharing!

May 12, 2009 at 2:20 p.m.

PaisleyRaven

Cool! How fun :) The paper version would be kitty-proof friendly too.

May 12, 2009 at 2:24 p.m.

TinyBazaar

Thanks so much Katie for sharing my tutorial! :-)

May 12, 2009 at 2:25 p.m.

ElegantSnobbery

That is so cute!!!

May 12, 2009 at 2:28 p.m.

voleurdebijoux

Very pretty!!

May 12, 2009 at 2:30 p.m.

PersistentGreen

What an awesome tutorial. I love the pink feathers! Thank you for sharing this.

May 12, 2009 at 2:39 p.m.

sandali

AWESOME -- I absolute LOVE the 'How-to-Tuesdays' -- always gets me in the mood to try new things -- Happy Days ;)

May 12, 2009 at 2:50 p.m.

vitamini

What a cool project! I'll have to try this one out. ;)

May 12, 2009 at 2:53 p.m.

lovelygifts

Very nice!

May 12, 2009 at 3:04 p.m.

wickedlittlethings

lovely!

May 12, 2009 at 3:11 p.m.

cindyandmindy

Great project. Thanks for sharing it.

May 12, 2009 at 3:19 p.m.

missindie

this looks like fun!! :]

May 12, 2009 at 3:22 p.m.

thehappycamper

What a cool "rainy day" project !
Also someone who has everything, would love this as a gift especially someone in a nursing home because it is so bright and cheerful.
I think it would be cute to do it in pics of kittens and then have a small ball of yarn hanging from the center! You could even do that from a old calender ~ Or you use Harrison Ford's pic and put a glittery heart in the center .......well, thats just me ( ;

May 12, 2009 at 3:31 p.m.

WanderlustBling

So pretty! And a great step by step.

May 12, 2009 at 3:43 p.m.

HibouCards

I love this and I think I'll get the wire frame to make my own wreath!
So let's get crafty :) I still have to explore all the feather goodies too :)
Feathers are always chic and add an edge to everything.

Again, good job on the picks! Hooray for ETSY :)

May 12, 2009 at 3:44 p.m.

GemmaBeads

So cute!

May 12, 2009 at 3:45 p.m.

TianaCHE

Wonderful project! So sweet! Thank you!

May 12, 2009 at 3:47 p.m.

dragonhouseofyuen

lovely wreath - I love Faux Feathers too, and I think the Heart wreath is just gorgeous.
thank you!

May 12, 2009 at 3:51 p.m.

dragonhouseofyuen

What a Great shop cj8n is! not just a super heart wreath :)

May 12, 2009 at 3:52 p.m.

weirdwolf

So pretty! Terrific idea.

May 12, 2009 at 4 p.m.

missmacau

Wonderful project! I love the faux feathers and the color too!

May 12, 2009 at 4:31 p.m.

MouseTrapVintage

This is an amazing idea! :)

May 12, 2009 at 4:49 p.m.

VintageEyeFashion

i will try anything that the word fiendishly is
involved in! i like clever too!

May 12, 2009 at 5:19 p.m.

BetterThanCheesecake

Very pretty and Pink!

May 12, 2009 at 5:56 p.m.

ToScarboroughFair

Great idea! Feathers are so expressive!

May 12, 2009 at 6:25 p.m.

FableBay

So lovely! i never think of things like this!

May 12, 2009 at 7:03 p.m.

themagicalbean

what a great idea! good thinking.

May 12, 2009 at 7:17 p.m.

SundraSandrusi

great idea!

May 12, 2009 at 8:48 p.m.

shopgoldmine

feathers are awesome! i am a birdwatcher :)

May 12, 2009 at 11:22 p.m.

littlepinkpebble

I love al these tutorials thanks. I used to keep a macaw but i don't have the feathers anymore : (

May 12, 2009 at 11:44 p.m.

monkeyandsquirrel

love the idea of faux feathers... they're vegan!

May 13, 2009 at 2:08 a.m.

RiverBird

Super cute I love it!

May 13, 2009 at 3:16 a.m.

magpiefelts

Clever! Great tutorial!

May 13, 2009 at 3:44 a.m.

Leelinau

So cute, I just may try that.

^__^

May 13, 2009 at 4:35 a.m.

PAINTINGSBYSAM

what beautiful feather creations!

May 13, 2009 at 8:48 a.m.

twogoodeyes

Great idea, great looking!

May 13, 2009 at 9:30 a.m.

sorellina

Beautiful! Thanks for this article!

May 13, 2009 at 9:39 a.m.

Morado

This is awesome. What a cool idea!! thanks

May 13, 2009 at 10:03 a.m.

Dongedyframe

Funny idea... thanks !

May 13, 2009 at 10:18 a.m.

retrodition

yay, i love this! thanks so much for sharing!

May 13, 2009 at 10:35 a.m.

zombuki

So darn pretty! I want to try it with real feathers :3 I loooove the pink, especially with turquoise <3 Nom!

May 13, 2009 at 10:50 a.m.

edor

cute and fresh!

May 13, 2009 at 11:19 a.m.

CollectionObsession

Awesome. Thank you for this. I think I could adapt it using a simple cardboard form for my mom's assisted living craft group. They love making pretty things to hang on their doors.

May 13, 2009 at 2:22 p.m.